Madame Rose Belgian Style Wild Ale | Goose Island Beer Co.

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Reviews by joe1510:

Madame Rose pours rusty red getting darker as it fills the glass finally becoming the color of aged mahogany, bordering black. There's no seeing through this guy. A wispy, short lived head of beige forms on the pour before crackling down to a thin ring that leaves a small patch or two along the glass with each drink.

The cherries have faded a bit over the last two years but they hit with a tannic tartness upfront, pit and stems. The middle brings balsamic vinegar that's softer than the nose suggested along with that mineralistic funk I mentioned above. Sweeter cherries, along the lines of Rainier, pop up on the backend and produce a give and take with the sweet and sour. Very nice!

Airy and effervescent is how the body should be on a beer of this type. Goose nailed it. The weight is on the low side of the spectrum while highly active, short of prickly, carbonation creates a Belgian-esque frothiness. The tart is enough to cause a pucker while tannins dry you out in a hurry, making it tough to set the glass down. If heartburn doesn't catch up with you the drinkability is way up there.

Madame Rose has always been my favorite in the stable of Goose Island's wild beers, and there are some good ones. The cherries delicious, the acetic acid just right, oak and funk hit the spot, and it simply has class. Great with age, great fresh, either way I dig it.

More User Reviews:

2012 vintage, thanks to Mike for splitting this bottle. It pours a ruby color, deeper than the Mariana Trench, though light still bursts through this blood-red brew when held up to the light. Barely any head forms; a janky, gray-tinted skin of chunky bubbles disperses quickly towards the edge of the beer and asserts itself as a tiny collar.

Deep, mashed cherries and cherry skins outline the aroma, also filled with grape, light oak, and mild funk - complete with a backing lactic sourness. Very good, but lightly one-track minded without ever really opening up with time. I was expecting a bit more complexity, but I was still completely satisfied with the aromas that were there (does that make sense?).

The taste is pretty light up front - each sip from there on out brings forward a little more flavor and robustness. Warm cherries, lightly tart, though maybe not as sour as the aroma would make you think. Faint lemon spritz, tons of grapes and vinous notes, along with a slightly nutty undertone. Funk flashes in and out at times; mildly musty and just a touch corky.

There's a nice hint of vanilla and cinnamon that I'm picking up. I'm guessing the vanilla could be a mild induction from the Cabernet Sauvignon barrels, but I'm confused about the cinnamon. Hell, it might not even been cinnamon. But whatever the little spiced note is, it works. It completely stands out, but at the same time feels right at home, like R. Kelly at a Chuck E. Cheese.

Dry and oaky finish with only remnants of cherries and vinous grapes. Thin-medium bodied with a pretty smooth mouth feel that turns sharp in the end thanks to some hefty carbonation. Another very solid release from Goose Island's line of Belgian style ales. I'd like to see a little more sourness for the price, but overall, the beer itself was very enjoyable. I feel like a few years of age could take this one in a positive direction.

Whoa, didn't see that coming. This was absolutely tremendous. Great nose right off the bat, with a bit of musty funk, some oak, and a healthy vein of natural sour cherry. Palate is similar, beautifully melding all the pieces. Tremendously drinkable, neither excessively acidic nor too flat, just the perfect amount of carb to make you want to guzzle this right down -- a particularly incredible feat for a sour beer. I want to find reasons not to love this as much, but this is right there w/ Rodenbach GC for me. A+.

Pours a murky red/brown with no head head or lacing. Smell is cherries, vanilla, tobacco, oak, and other mild light stone fruits. Taste is pure cherry, oak, and tobacco. Other flavors of stone fruits and light citrus like acidity are there, but the oak and cherries dominate. It tastes like I'm drinking a Cabernet Sauvignon. Mouthfeel is mildly tart, medium carbonation, crisp, hides the ABV, very drinkable.

I've had this beer fresh and this one 2 years old. This one kills the fresh beer.

Aah, these girls of Goose Island... all elegance, all pompous, all sour, and all irresistible. Nothing against the rustic balance of Matilda, or the winey tart Lolita, or the sultry rich Juliet, or the soft and tepid Sofie- its Madame Rose that reigns supreme!

Her masculine colors are brown with tawny rust shaddows. She rises with an eggshell-white mid-structured head that reduces to a translucent skirt on the surface. Lacing spottily with islands on the glass, the ale is both sturdy and dainty in the same breath.

Earthy wine tones dominate the nose- Red wine, balsamic, cider are soon coupled with medium toast, pepper, and wood rot (in the most elegant way possible). Shying away from mushroomy properties, the ale is cast in a veil of sour cherry shadowing.

To taste, its those Merlot wine properties that come alive- tart, sweet, fruity- but with the sharp and sour cherries instead of grape, the beer claims an acidic tone that's distinct to sour ale. Subtleties of balsamic, sherry, and soy sauce bleeds into a lightly salty bit with toast, peppercorn and an implication of chocolate. Finishing crisp and cidery more rustic leather taste softens its closure with earthen rusticity

Crisp, clean, and mildly malty- the beer's upstart is modestly malty. But shortly after the initial palate, the feel of the beer sheds all malt sweetness and its associated carbonation to favor a quick, clean feel of sour acidity that evokes sweating. Lightly minerally- its light iron finish is warm and slightly astringent with echoes of fruit and wine.

Madame Rose is the most refined and elegant of all the girls of Goose. She's crafty, imaginative, and regal in her recipe formulation and brewer execution. She's perfect, even in her flaws.

Taste is complex and evolving with each sip. Lots of bright citrus with a vinegary twang. Lots of funk and very sour. Pickled, salty cherries dominate the core flavor. A meaty taste is present; again, similar to that of beef jerky. The beer is missing a bit of sweetness.

Overall, this is one of the better sours by GI. I see it pairing well with crispy seared duck with an orange glaze. It gets a 81/100.

the best oud bruin ive ever had, if we can even fairly call it that, and easily the most enjoyable brew from goose island for me, including a few bourbon county variants. special beer here. more red than brown in color, fairly light and see through, with soda like carbonation and an inch or less of off white fizz head. the nose on this is awesome, bretty, as funky as it is sour, the cherries are authentic but not too sweet, the base beer is true to style, and the cabernet barrels have left their mark with a fruity tannic kick. i also smell something uniquely floral, vegetal flowers, lush and in bloom. the flavor of this beer blew me away, my favorite in a long lineup of excellent beers. i do get the oud bruin malt profile, but its dressed up in tart cherries as bright as day, and mellowed with a refined oak profile that includes vanilla and all kinds of brett charcter. its sour sure, but not too acidic like some can be. its only a gentle sour, drying but not burning, elegant beer. i also get the floral thing in the flavor, like biting the head off a fresh bright red tulip, its vibrant and wet and the embodiment of captured sunlight. this beer is so complex, so layered, so intricately put together that its bringing me all the way back to the first time i had consecration. im not sure i have been as impressed with a beer since. i could not imagine a better flavor profile or feel. the cherries, the brett, the cab barrels, its all so well done. i will remember this bottle fondly for a long time, and eagerly await the opportunity to drink another one. this was the last in a night of maybe 25 beers, and it was so darn good it made me sober. mind blown.

A: A deep amber brown with a ruby hue and good clarity. Pours with a finger of rocky off-white head that quickly fades to just a ring of fine bubbles around the edge. This style should have an average to good head retention but tart sours have a tend to have a pour head retention due to the high acidity.

S: It's got a mouth watering smell that signals beckoning sour beer fan to enjoy a tasty treat. A noticeable acetic sour aroma with moderately-strong red currents. There is moderate dark stone fruit aromas of sour cherries and nectarines along with some malt character. There is a moderate oak aroma as well.

T: A great sweet tart balance in the front an a little bit of caramel and oak on the finish. The fruit is again red cherries and red currentsThe sourness is a little more restrained than the aroma would suggest but still dominates the flavor along with the fruit and oak flavors. The balance is moderately sour. The hops don't add much just a light bitterness the is obscured by the tartness. The finish is dry with an aftertaste the oak and fruity notes.

M: Very lively beer on the palate having a light bodied with high levels of carbonation.

O: A fairly good Flanders Brown is always and exceptional beer when I can get my hands on one. This one is somewhat above average for the style and Like that isn't too sweet, which is with the style just not my preference. This beer could definitely age well and i'd probably enjoy it even more in a year or two.

Great beer all around. Nice and tart without being way too tart for an easy drinking beer of this style.

I enjoyed it greatly and paired it with venison medallions and potatoes with onions that had been sauteed in Canadian Whiskey. It stood up rather nicely to the dark venison tenderloin and was the perfect pairing (for me).

Pours a perfect dark color with the proper head and carbonation.

Has the classic sour smell with the hint of cherries that it was made from. Cherry doesn't overpower the rest of the flavor profile - it works in concert with the malt and tartness provided by the bugs. Easy drinking.

Just a great beer and I wish I could go more 4.9 instead of 4.75. I didn't give it a 5 because I just wanted a hair more tartness but it's as close as I can get to a perfect beer without being perfect IMO.

A - Pours a somewhat murky reddish brown with almost no head to speak of.

S - Nice cherry aroma with no medicinal notes present. Also slight vinegar and a faint amount of funk. Very nice.

T - nice balance of tart with a subtle but noticeable sweetness. A bit of vinegar character, but not mouth puckering. Also some noticeable yeast funk and and some earthiness on the finish. Very nice version of the style.

M - light crisp mouthfeel. Finishes pretty clean and dry.

O - been wanting to try this for awhile and was not disappointed. A nice tartness but nothing requiring antiacids. Would love to have again.